Why does burgers/steak shrink when you cook it instead of falling apart?

Question

Just curious why it pulls together keeping its shape rather than filling with “holes” and falling apart.

In: 5

Answer 1

What’s happening is like the reverse of what happens when you [put a water on a dry sponge for the first time](https://media.nature.com/w1248/magazine-assets/d41586-018-04010-w/d41586-018-04010-w_15577882.gif).

When cooking the meat, the only thing leaving is the water. The protein (structure) all remains, and contracts as the water leaves from between and within all the fibers.